A Highland Park couple has been cited 21 times, once for each of the 21 cats authorities found living in squalor in a garage earlier this month.
Jorjic Badalpour, 60, and Agnes Badalpour, 56 were cited for the unlawful treatment of animals and the unlawful keeping of animals, due to the state of the garage, police said.
The couple could each face up to $1,500 per unlawful treatment citation along with a possibility of six months in jail, as well as $10 to $500 for the unlawful keeping violation.
Authorities visited the home after they were contacted by the founder of animal rescue organization Tails of Hope, Kelly Moyer, who had visited the home in June. Moyer reported an overwhelming odor upon entering the garage where the cats were kept constantly in the dark and in the midst of their own waste.
Removing the animals and taking them to the shelter took six days, after which three of the cats died, one gave birth to two kittens and then underwent surgery for an infected abdomen, and three of the cats' tails were amputated.
Moyer said three of the cats have already been adopted.
Around the same time period, dozens of cats and three dogs were removed from a home in Berwyn and taken to an animal shelter after authorities gained access to the residence.
Those who live near the Berwyn home, on the 3100 block of East Avenue, said they'd complained for months of the foul odor emanating from the home and were unable to open their windows that faced it because the smell was so wretched.
Authorities deemed the Berwyn home uninhabitable after the removal of the animals.
